Lawyers representing Automattic, the for-profit founded by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, sent a trademark complaint letter to WordPress developer Kevin Geary, asking him to rebrand his WordPress CSS framework, which is currently named Automatic.css, claiming that the similarity to Mullenweg’s Automattic could lead to consumer confusion.
The letter caught some in the WordPress industry by surprise, since Geary had months ago shown good-faith compliance after Mullenweg tweeted a request for Geary to place a disclaimer in the footer of Automatic.css.
Screenshot Of Mullenweg’s July 2025 Tweet To Geary
Kevin Geary
Kevin Geary is a well-liked and popular member of the WordPress developer community since 2005. He’s currently developing a WordPress page builder called EtchWP (currently in Alpha stage) and is behind the well-received CSS framework called Automatic CSS (ACSS). ACSS is a CSS framework that simplifies design consistency within a website, easiliy integrating with page builders like Bricks, Gutenberg, and Oxygen which are popular within the web design community.
A YouTube video and accompanying article from a year ago caused a stir because he documented himself trying to use WordPress’s native Block Editor and coming away from the experience with a large list of issues that need fixing.
He wrote about the Gutenberg workflow:
“Is this the “for everyone” experience? Is this the true vision of the WordPress block editor? …it’s wildly inefficient and impractical.”
Elsewhere he noted that most people are confused about what Gutenberg is supposed to be, citing results of an informal poll of his Twitter followers showing disagreement whether it’s supposed to be a page builder or not.
He concluded:
“It’s NOT for:
Beginner web developers who want to learn how to build websites.
Intermediate web developers who want to build custom websites.
Advanced web developers who want to build custom websites.
Most agencies & freelancers (unless they’re committed to building custom blocks).
I want to like it, I really do. As it stands now, though, the only viable way to use the block editor to build a custom site is with third-party tools. Native ain’t cutting it.”
All of this is to say that Geary is a passionate supporter of WordPress, even when he criticizes the block editor or the “tragedy of the commons” support model underlying WordPress.
Automattic’s Letter To Geary
Geary tweeted a copy of the letter sent to him in which Mullenweg’s lawyers asked him to rebrand his WordPress CSS framework.
Part of the letter stated:
“We represent Automattic Inc. in intellectual property matters. As you know, our client owns and operates a wide range of software brands and services, including the very popular web building and hosting platform WordPress.com. Automattic is also well-known for its longtime and extensive contributions to the WordPress system.
Our client owns many trademark registrations for its Automattic mark…
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